Political developments in Bihar come as big relief to Jharkhand CM

Shashank Shekhar

Ranchi ( Jharkhand) : With JD (U) national president Nitish Kumar joining hands with the NDA and forming government with its support in Bihar, Jharkhand CM Raghubar Das will breathe easy and feel more comfortable in the saddle now.

The BJP workers in Jharkhand have welcomed Nitish’s decision to snap ties with Mahagathbandhan. With the JD(U) out of it, Mahagathbandhan has definitely weakened in Jharkhand too. The  UPA partners  in Jharkhand including JVM headed by former chief minister Babulal Marandi, with whom Nitish Kumar had  jointly addressed dozens of public rallies  including at Dhanbad, Bokaro, Ranchi,  and Jamshedpur and had openly declared that only  Marandi can deliver the best for this tribal state, are flabbergasted and will take to settle down and chalk out their new strategy against Das government.

Till Nitish was in  Mahagathbandhan, the JVM, JMM along with Congress and RJD were putting too much pressure on Raghubar Das government who despite trying his best could not win a single  seat in three by- elections in Jharkhand.

With Das government proposing  amendment  in North Chotanagpur Tenancy and Santhal Pargana  Tenancy Act, which has been returned by Jharkhand Governor Draupadi Murmu for reconsideration,  27 %  tribals of the state are openly opposing the state government move. Former BJP chief minister Arjun Munda and AJSU chief Sudesh Mahto too have strong reservation about the move. The central leaders of the BJP too are not happy with the style of functioning of Das, who is regarded as ‘short tempered’ politician in  bureaucratic circles.

In recent days, tribals led  by JMM leader Hemant Soren and Congress leader Sukhdeo Bhagat and  ‘Mahtos’ (who  claim to  constitute 26 % of population) led by AJSU supremo  Sudesh Mahto along with state JD(U) chief Jaleshwar Mahto were hobnobbing with JVM chief Babulal Marandi for constituting  ‘Mahagathbandan’ in Jharkhand  before 2019 Lok Sabha polls under the guidance  of Nitish Kumar and RJD chief  Lalu Yadav. The political developments in Bihar have upset them.

The combination of TMMY (tribal, Mahto, Muslim and Yadav) would have taken wind out of BJP sail in Jharkhand. Even some BJP leaders were openly admitting this combination would have posed a serous challenge to NDA in Jharkhand but with Nitish switching over to NDA, the opposition has suffered a major setback in Jharkhand. “ Everyone knows about the cordial relationship between Nitish Kumar and Babulal Marandi but with former joining hands with NDA fold, the opposition unity move has indeed suffered,” stated JD(U) state chief Jaleshwar Mahto who showed praises on NItish for opposing Lalu on corruption front.